Tales from the Family Jane
by Malley
Summary: A series of one-shots that focus on the lives of Jane and Lisbon, both past and present. Rated T to be safe. Some will contain spoilers while others will be just fun drabbles. Spoilers will be noted. Suggestions for one-shots and drabbles are welcome. **NEW**-Chapter 8: Reinforcements (Spoilers- Series Finale).
1. What is Happiness?

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own The Mentalist or any of its characters.** The show is over. That should be proof enough.

**A/N: **I am over the moon with the series finale. That was just beyond words. I just wish that the series didn't have to end in order for that to happen. That being said, I am not ready to part with the Mentalist quite yet, so I decided to start this story so I could still write Jane and Lisbon whenever the inspiration strikes on whatever or wherever my muse takes me. Some chapters will have spoilers, which will be noted, and others will just be non-plot related fun. Here's to seven wonderful years of The Mentalist!

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***WARNING- SPOILERS FOR THE SERIES FINALE***

**TALES FROM THE FAMILY JANE**

CHAPTER 1: What is Happiness?

Patrick Jane propped himself up on his arm on his pillow and rested his head on his hand. He looked over at Teresa Lisbon, who was lying next to him on the bed, and smiled at her.

"I love you, _Mrs._ _Jane_," Jane said, emphasizing her new name.

Lisbon smiled back at Jane.

"I love you too, Mr. Jane." she replied.

Jane leaned forward and kissed Lisbon gently, sweetly.

It was their wedding night. As the wedding party wound down, the newlyweds quietly excused themselves from the festivities and sneaked away to celebrate their wedding night just like other newlyweds do.

Jane pulled away from their kiss slowly. He took his free hand and brushed some stray pieces of hair from Lisbon's face and then caressed her cheek with his thumb. His hand then travelled slowly down her face and neck to her shoulder and then down her arm until he reached her hand, at which point Lisbon intertwined her fingers with his. Lisbon smiled to herself as she ran her fingers over the wedding ring that now adorned the hand of the man she loved.

"I know we said- I said- that we didn't want a big wedding," Lisbon began to say as she continued to fiddle with Jane's silver ring. "But you know what? I'm glad it turned out this way. I'm glad we had all of our friends and family here to help us celebrate."

"Me too," Jane said sincerely. "But honestly, it didn't matter who was here, where we were or even what we were wearing; we could have been married by an Elvis impersonator while we stood in a bright yellow life raft in the middle of our pond while wearing clown suits," Jane replied.

He paused as he listened to the melodious sound of Lisbon giggling. "The only thing that mattered was that I got to finally marry the woman I love and nothing was going to stop me from doing that."

Lisbon raised an eyebrow at Jane.

"Not even my brothers, who got black out drunk and then proceeded to scare the entire state of Texas with their drunken dance moves?"

This time, it was Jane's turn to laugh.

"Actually, I am honored to call all of the members of the Lisbon family, my family," Jane told her. "And speaking of family,"

Jane removed his hand from Lisbon's and placed it gently over her abdomen. "Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, you gave me the greatest gift that I could ever ask for. I can't believe I'm going to be a dad again..."

Jane's statement trailed off, his bright and dreamy smile saying more than words ever could about how much Lisbon's special announcement meant to him. Lisbon placed her hand over the one that Jane had resting on her abdomen.

"That was definitely a surprise for me as well," Lisbon admitted. "But a welcome one. I had pretty much resigned myself to eventually winding up as that spinster who lived alone with her fifteen cats because she was married to the job and never made time for love or family."

"But now you get both," Jane assured her.

"I know," Lisbon said with a smile. "I couldn't be happier."

"Good," Jane replied, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. "That's the most important thing to me, the happiness of my beautiful wife and, in the near future, the happiness of our little baby Jane."

It was quiet between them for a few minutes, neither really needing nor wanting to speak. They were content to just be in each other's company.

"You know, I've been thinking," Jane finally spoke.

"Now there's a scary prospect," Lisbon replied sarcastically.

"Ha ha," Jane retorted. "I was actually thinking about happiness."

"What about it?"

"Well, I thought for years that I had been happy and that Red John had taken that happiness away from me," Jane began to say, trying to find the words to explain his innermost feelings. "But I was living a lie. I wasn't me. I was pretending to be some flashy fake psychic and, well, you know where that got me.

"And then I met you, Teresa, my favorite cute as a button firecracker of a cop. You saw me when I had nothing, when I was nothing and, against your better judgment, you fell in love with me anyway. And now that you and I are finally together, finally married, I realize that I am now truly happy. There's no need to pretend to be anything other than me. I know that you love me for me, even after all that I've put you through, and that made me realize that I am completely and truly happy."

Lisbon opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't find the words to respond to her husband's heartfelt admission. Instead, she stayed quiet and couldn't stop the tears that began welling up in her eyes as his words made her heart swell with more love than she thought possible. Jane immediately brushed them away.

"Stupid hormones," Lisbon remarked with a chuckle and a slight sniffle.

"Stupid hormones from our tiny miracle," Jane reminded her.

Lisbon nodded in agreement.

"I wouldn't give them up for anything in the world," she added.

It was no secret that both Jane and Lisbon had questioned over the course of their lives what happiness was and if they would ever achieve it. They were now coming to the realization that the answer to those questions was yes. They were finally together and were certainly looking forward to their future with their family. That was happiness.

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Reviews are welcome but I go by the Golden Rule of Reviewing- review for others how you want your own stories to be reviewed (in other words, no flames or insults just for the sake of them).

Also, I only have about four more ideas for this story. If anyone has any ideas that they would like to have me take a stab at writing, feel free to leave an idea in the reviews or via PM. I will give credit for any ideas if I post them.

~Malley


	2. Forgotten Memories

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own The Mentalist or any of its characters.** But if Bruno Heller is done with them, I will gladly take them off his hands :)

**TALES FROM THE FAMILY JANE**

Chapter 2: Forgotten Memories

It was a mid-western road trip for summer vacation this year for the Lisbon family. The family of six piled into their minivan and left Chicago to spend a week away from home. After spending hours in the cramped vehicle together, Neil Lisbon pulled into a gas station just off of the main highway to give the kids a chance to stretch their legs and also make a quick trip to the bathroom for the littlest Lisbon. He parked the van at a gas pump to fill up before they continued toward their destination.

Neil and his wife, Carrie, exited the vehicle as their children threw open the sliding side door and hopped out of their seats and into the warm summer heat. Three year old Jimmy Lisbon headed over to find Carrie immediately after getting out of his car seat.

"Momma! I gotta go to the potty!" he whined as he tugged on her hand.

Carrie looked down at her youngest son and smiled. She smoothed out some of his hair that had gotten mussed up, most likely collateral damage from his two older brothers roughhousing throughout the long car ride. Carrie then called over to her husband as she took Jimmy's hand in hers and prepared to take him to the nearest restroom.

"Neil, I'm going to take Jimmy to the bathroom while you fill up the van," she told Neil. "I need to go as well since I had that great idea of chugging that big bottle of water before we left Illinois,"

Neil laughed as he pulled the nozzle from its cradle on the fuel dispenser. Carrie, meanwhile, turned and headed toward the gas station convenient store.

"Stan! Give it back!" Neil heard a voice call from the other side of the van. "I wasn't done with that!"

Neil shook his head knowingly. Seven year old Stanley Lisbon and five year old Tommy Lisbon were at it again. He set the nozzle to fuel up the van while he came around to the opposite side of the vehicle to see exactly what kind of trouble his two boys had gotten themselves in to. Mouth opened, prepared to break up the scuffle before things went south and he had to threaten to turn this van around and go straight home, Neil paused when he saw what his children were up to. Sitting on the floor of the car where the sliding door was open were Stan and Tommy. They were listening intently to the story of the book that they had just been fighting over as it was read by the person sitting in between the two boys: nine year old Teresa Lisbon. Neil smiled to himself at the sight. His little girl; she always knew what to do, especially where her brothers were concerned.

"Hey, kids," Neil began to say.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Grabbing a few dollars, Neil held out the money for the three kids to see.

"Teresa, why don't you take your brothers into the store and buy some snacks for you guys?" he offered. "Mom's in the store with Jimmy so see if they want anything too,"

Teresa put the book down on the seat and walked over to Neil to accept the money from him.

"Okay, Dad," she said.

Teresa turned around and motioned to Stan and Tommy to follow her into the store. As the two younger boys skipped happily toward the store, apparently best friends again, Neil caught his only daughter before she could depart.

"Nice job, T," he told her with a wink and a quick hug.

Teresa smiled up at her dad, happy to see that he was proud of her. Cash in hand, Teresa started to make her way toward the store when Stan and Tommy came bounding back toward the van.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" they shouted breathlessly in unison.

Carrie, who had just emerged from the store with Jimmy in tow, looked at Neil curiously at the sight of her two sons bouncing up and down at their father's feet.

"What's all the hubbub about?" she questioned.

"That's actually what I'd like to know," Neil replied.

He turned his attention to Stan and Tommy. "What's up, guys?"

"Daddy! We saw a flyer for a carnival!" Stan exclaimed. "Can we go, pleeeeease?"

Tommy joined into the extended and drawn out 'please' and Jimmy soon followed suit. Neil looked over at Carrie, who shrugged.

"Where is it?" Carrie asked.

Neil walked over to the store and read over the flyer that the boys had spotted.

"Uhh...it's actually just down the road from here," he called back to his wife. "There's a small town a few miles from here and it's just past the town line."

Carrie turned and faced her children.

"Who's up for a carnival?" she asked.

All four of the Lisbon children cheered in approval of their parents' decision.

After a short drive through a sleepy little town, the sight of a Ferris wheel peeking over the horizon let the Lisbon family know that the carnival was now just a few minutes away. Neil drove the van down a dirt road to a makeshift parking lot where the sounds of the carnival- the music, the machinery, the chatter and laughter- immediately permeated the walls of the vehicle even though all of the doors and windows were still locked up tight. Once the van had come to a complete stop, the kids whipped off their seatbelts and then bobbed up and down in their seats in excited anticipation. Carrie pulled out Jimmy's stroller from the trunk while Neil corralled the herd of eager children.

"Alright kids, let's go officially start our vacation!" Carrie said with a smile.

As the family headed toward the carnival's entrance, Teresa caught up to her father.

"Hey Dad," she said, clutching the dollar bill that Neil had given her earlier at the gas station. "Here's the money you gave me to buy snacks,"

Neil covered his daughter's outstretched hand with his own.

"Keep it," he said as they followed behind Carrie and the boys. "You can buy yourself something at the carnival. Either that or bribe your brothers into doing your chores."

Teresa giggled.

"Thanks, Dad."

"No problem, peanut." Neil replied.

A few hours later, they had done nearly everything the carnival had to offer, from rides to shopping, to games and more. As the day went on, the tummies of the Lisbon children soon began to rumble and that prompted Carrie and Neil to seek out the nearest food stand for a bite to eat. While waiting in line, Tommy and Jimmy were looking around the nearby game booths, stars in their eyes as they examined the different types of prizes that each game had to offer.

"Tommy! Look!" Jimmy started to say as he tugged on his brother's shirt. "Pandy bear!"

Ever since Teresa had to do a project for science class on panda bears, the boys had been on a panda bear binge. Anything to do with panda bears, the boys had to have it. So, naturally, when Jimmy and Tommy spotted the panda bear stuffed toy hanging from the rafters of a game booth, they had to have it.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Tommy and James called, their tiny fingers pointing in the direction of the carnival game. "Can we play that game? There's a panda bear as a prize!"

"After we get our food, guys." Carrie replied.

The two young boys looked at the line of people in front of them. Even though it was only a few people, to the boys, it seemed like an eternity. Tommy and Jimmy, along with Stan, who had decided that he also wanted to win the stuffed panda bear, all frowned. Teresa, noticing her brothers' disappointed faces, spoke up.

"I can take them over to the game," she offered.

Carrie and Neil looked at each other for a moment or two before both parents nodded.

"Tommy, Jimmy, take Teresa's hand, okay? Stan, you hold on to them too," Carrie instructed.

Tommy and Jimmy quickly latched on to their big sister and Stan. The four kids then made their way over to the game booth.

"Step right up, kids," the game operator said as Teresa, Stan, Tommy and Jimmy approached the booth. "The game is ring toss. Get a ring around the bottle and win a prize."

Teresa handed the operator some money and the operator then exchanged the money for a bucket of small red rings. The boys went through the rings one by one, some shots being nearly a winner while others appeared that they were being tossed to a game a few states over. Teresa watched vigilantly over her younger brothers but that didn't stop her from noticing a boy, who she pegged as probably being no more than a few years older than herself, watching her curiously from the other side of the game booth. She glanced from side to side to see if she could discern what the boy was staring at but her attention was quickly diverted back to her brothers.

"Oh no!" Stan said as he peered into the bucket of rings. "We've only got one ring left!"

"But we gotta win the pandy bear!" Jimmy exclaimed.

"You're trying to win the panda bear?" a voice asked.

Teresa looked up from her brothers and saw the boy that had been watching them had now approached them.

"Yeah, but we've only got one ring left," Tommy explained.

The boy took a quick glance into the lime green bucket that did, in fact, contain one single ring.

"Hmm...that seems like quite the challenge," the boy remarked. "Mind if I try?"

Stan, Tommy and Jimmy looked at Teresa who shrugged.

"You really think you could get a ringer in one try?" Teresa scoffed.

The boy flashed her a bright and confident smile. Without saying anything further, the boy grabbed the ring from the bucket and stood at the edge of the booth. He held the ring in his hand and surveyed the army of bottles that were spread out before him. Stan, Tommy and Jimmy watched with bated breath while Teresa just folded her arms across her chest, not really convinced that the boy would be able to make a ringer in one shot. After another moment or two, the boy let out a breath and, with a quick flick of the wrist, deployed the last ring. The ring skipped across various bottles, making a tinking sound with each hit, until it came to rest on the neck of a bottle. He had done it. A dead ringer.

"Yay! Pandy bear! Pandy bear!" Jimmy cheered.

"Congratulations!" the game operator announced. "You won!"

She turned around and pulled down a stuffed panda bear and handed it to the boys with a smile. "Enjoy your new friend," she said.

"What do you say?" Teresa reminded her brothers.

Stan, Tommy and Jimmy turned to the game operator.

"Thank you!" they said.

The game operator turned to take care of her new customers that had been drawn to the game after seeing the boy win the giant stuffed panda bear.

"It's bigger than me!" Tommy laughed as he looked over their prize.

"Stan, why don't you help Tommy and Jimmy show Mom and Dad what we won?" Teresa suggested.

Stan nodded and the three boys carried their giant new friend back to their parents. Once they were gone, Teresa turned her attention to the boy, who was standing next to her, smiling.

"How'd you do that?" she asked him.

"What? Get a ringer?" the boy asked.

He shrugged. "It's not that difficult."

"Really? We almost went through an entire bucket while you made it in one shot."

The boy smiled at her.

"Well, I've had a lot of practice," he said.

"Do you come here a lot?" Teresa questioned.

"I guess you could say that," the boy replied simply.

"Teresa!"

Teresa whirled around and saw her mother beckoning her over to the picnic table that they were going to be eating at. She giggled at the sight of the panda bear on the seat next to her brothers, as it towered over them. She looked back at the boy.

"Thank you for doing that," Teresa said.

"It's no problem," the boy said. "That's one of the fun things about carnivals, they make people happy."

Teresa turned around once again, prepared to head back over to her family but paused when the boy asked her a question. "Hey, I never got your name," he said.

"I'm Teresa,"

The boy smiled brightly.

"That's a pretty name," he said, causing Teresa to blush.

"What's yours?" she quickly changed the subject.

The boy held out his hand.

"I'm Patrick,"

Teresa shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Patrick."

"C'mon, T! Hurry up before your brothers eat everything!" Neil called this time.

Teresa let out a breath.

"I've got to go," she said.

Before Teresa realized what was happening, Patrick hugged her. After he released her, Patrick began to head off.

"Look in your pocket!" he called to her before disappearing into the crowd of people.

Teresa felt around her jeans pockets until she came across a bump in her left pocket. She reached in and pulled out the mystery item. It was an origami frog. Teresa looked up to see if she could spot Patrick anywhere but she couldn't find him. Instead, she just smiled to herself as she stared down at the folded piece of paper in her hands.

Funny how some memories are forgotten.


	3. Get a Clue

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own The Mentalist or any of its characters. **I did put them on my birthday list again this year, though.

**TALES FROM THE FAMILY JANE**

Chapter 3- Get a Clue

"There's no way that the victim was shot; someone would have heard the gunshot!"

"But what if the killer used a silencer?"

"Easy. It's not possible."

Wylie looked over his shoulder in the direction of the elevator. Jane and Lisbon had just arrived at the FBI for the work day and were bickering, as per the normal. In his time working with the two, Wylie had learned that it was just how Jane and Lisbon did things. Who was he to judge?

"What about location? How could no one notice the body?" Lisbon continued.

"The body could have been moved," Jane countered.

Lisbon paused as she and Jane reached her desk and his couch. She turned to face him.

"Okay, I'll admit that it's possible that the body could have been moved," Lisbon began to say as she placed her hands on her desk. "But the killer had to have left some evidence behind. It's Locard's Principle of Exchange. When two things come into contact with each other, there will be an exchange of materials between the two. The killer will leave something behind at the scene and some evidence will leave with the killer whether he or she knows it or not. That's science."

"Science, shmcience," Jane scoffed.

Lisbon folded her arms across her chest.

"Alright then, if you say that the body was moved, prove it," she challenged. "How could the killer have moved the body? Some of the suspects are very small in stature."

"The killer could have had help." Jane offered.

A smile crossed Lisbon's lips.

"Not possible. There was one killer, plain and simple." she reminded Jane.

"It was just an example, woman," Jane retorted.

"You two sound like an old married couple," Wylie remarked, amused.

Both Jane and Lisbon turned to look at him. If looks could kill, Wylie was certain that his head would have exploded, taking out everything within a five mile radius. He just turned back to his computer and pretended to be suddenly very interested in whatever he had in front of him.

"Face it, Jane," Lisbon said, returning to the matter at hand. "You just don't want to admit that I'm right."

Jane pretended to be hurt by Lisbon's statement.

"Come on, Lisbon, you should know me better than that," he said.

"Exactly," Lisbon countered as she came from behind her desk to head to the kitchen to prepare herself some coffee. "I do know you, which is why I know that you will do everything in your power to deny that I'm right."

Jane was right behind Lisbon, following her into the kitchen.

"Lisbon, I'm hurt," he remarked, his voice fading out of earshot as they reached the kitchen.

The bullpen was suddenly quiet again, save for the usual daily ambiance. Wylie glanced back and forth before addressing Cho, who was at his desk.

"Um, Cho?" Wylie spoke up.

"Yeah?" Cho responded, not tearing his eyes away from the paper he was reading.

"Do we have a case or something?"

"No," Cho replied flatly. "Why do you ask?"

"Then what were Jane and Lisbon arguing about?" Wylie asked. "You know, the thing about the killer or killers, what weapon was used, and the location of where the victim was killed?"

"They played the board game Clue last night and Lisbon won," Cho explained.

"And they're debating it?"

"Yeah."

Wylie nodded slowly in understanding.

"Makes sense," he said with a shrug.

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Clue is my favorite board game and my favorite movie. I would love to see Jane and Lisbon playing the game and then fighting over the result...that would be funny :)

Reviews are most appreciated and keep sending in those suggestions. The more the merrier!


	4. The New Good Ol' Days

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own The Mentalist or any of its characters.** I asked for them for my birthday but didn't get them, sadly.

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*****SPOILERS FOR THE SERIES FINALE*****

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**TALES FROM THE FAMILY JANE**

Chapter 4- The New Good Ol' Days

The sunlight streamed in through the bedroom window and a gentle breeze filtered through the wind chime just outside of the window, playing a sweet and soft melody that wafted through the warm summer air. Teresa rolled over, away from the sunlight and buried her face in Patrick's chest and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her, even though he was still fast asleep. It was a peaceful moment that the couple wished could last for a while longer but, alas, it was not meant to be.

"Mommy! Daddy!" an energetic little voice called.

Four year old Matthew Jane burst into his parents' room and launched himself onto their bed. He crawled in between Teresa and Patrick and patted their blanket covered shoulders with his little hands.

"Wake up, guys! Aunty Grace, Uncle Wayne, Ben and Maddie are coming today!"

Rigsby, Van Pelt and their family were flying into Texas to spend a week of their summer vacation with Teresa, Patrick and their kids. As always, Matthew was very excited to get to see his Aunty Grace, Uncle Wayne and his good friends, Ben and Maddie.

Patrick opened one eye and saw his son looking back at him intently, but with a big smile. Any annoyance he may have felt as a result of being awakened out of his slumber instantly faded at the sight of his little boy's face.

"Their flight doesn't arrive until this afternoon," Teresa mumbled, her face still buried in Patrick's chest, in an attempt to get her son to go back to his room to sleep for just a little while longer. "Besides, your brother is still asleep and I know he'll be cranky if we wake him up this early."

"He gets that from Mom," Patrick whispered to Matthew, who giggled in response.

Teresa raised her head and glared at her husband, which only made Matthew laugh more.

"Can I see if he's up?" Matthew asked hopefully.

Teresa let out a breath as Matthew looked at her, pleading silently with his big, blue eyes. There was no doubt that he was Patrick's son, since he definitely inherited his father's charms and ability to get whatever he wanted with an adorable smile and by batting his baby blues.

"You can check," Teresa conceded. "But do not wake him up if he's asleep,"

Matthew smiled brightly upon receiving permission to check on his younger brother and bounced off the bed just as quickly as he had bounced on it. It was silent for another moment or two before Patrick finally spoke:

"What are the odds that Matthew listened and didn't wake up Drew?"

"Slim, none and forget it," Teresa replied.

"That's what I thought," Patrick said, knowing full well that his son took after him in a lot of ways.

He leaned over and gave Teresa his traditional good morning kiss before throwing the covers back to get out of bed. "I'll go start breakfast,"

Teresa nodded.

"Good idea."

* * *

Teresa and Patrick put the finishing touches on the guest bedroom while Matthew was on guard, watching vigilantly for his impending guests from his tree house that overlooked the pond. Through his binoculars, Matthew spotted the goldenrod colored taxi making its way down the dirt road toward the house.

"They're here!" he shrieked happily before rushing out of the tree house as if it were on fire.

Matthew reached the ground just as the taxi came to a stop and Patrick and Teresa, who was carrying two year old Drew in her arms, came outside to greet their good friends.

"Hey guys," Teresa greeted as Van Pelt, Rigsby and their kids exited the taxi.

Van Pelt smiled brightly and ran over to give Teresa a big hug and give little Drew a hug and a kiss.

"Oh my goodness, you've gotten so big, Drew!" Van Pelt cooed as she tickled the little blond toddler's side and he giggled in response.

She hugged Patrick just as Matthew came running toward them.

"Hi Aunty Grace! Hi Uncle Wayne!" he called.

Rigsby scooped up Matthew and swung him around as he messed up the boy's dark hair. He then let him back down so Ben and Maddie could show him some of the toys and activities that they had brought with them.

"Do you guys wanna go swimming?" Matthew's voice faded as the three kids made their way toward the pond.

The two couples laughed as they watched their kids heading off to have fun together. It was a beautiful sight for sure.

* * *

After a full day of swimming in the pond, playing games and just having fun, the kids snuggled under some blankets around the campfire that Teresa had built. Patrick gathered supplies to make s'mores and then handed them out to the kids and the adults. After assisting Drew in roasting his marshmallow, Patrick put the toddler on his lap and then settled in next to Teresa. It was a wonderful moment that needed no words as the laughter of the children, accompanied by the crackling fire and the symphony of crickets said more than words ever could.

"The kids were looking forward to coming down here for weeks," Van Pelt commented.

"So were we," Rigsby added.

Van Pelt and Rigsby both laughed and Teresa and Patrick did too.

"Same for us," Teresa said. "Matthew woke us up super early this morning because he was so excited about you guys coming down here."

"I know what you mean," Van Pelt said. "I don't remember the last time I didn't have to nearly drag the kids out of bed to get them up for the day but Ben and Maddie were up before Wayne and me."

"Oh, hey, Boss, could you pass me another graham cracker-" Rigsby began to say, pausing as he realized that he called Teresa "boss" again.

Teresa smiled as she passed a graham cracker to him.

"Wayne, I'm not your boss anymore," she reminded him. "I'm not even my boss anymore,"

"I know; habit," Rigsby admitted.

"Do you guys ever miss the old days at the CBI?" Teresa asked.

Van Pelt and Rigsby looked at each other and shrugged.

"Yes and no. I mean, I miss all of us working together. That was always fun but this," Van Pelt began to say, as she motioned toward the kids sitting across from them. "This is far more fun and memorable."

"I don't miss the CBI at all but I wouldn't trade away the time we spent there," Patrick spoke up. "Like Grace said, these moments are far better than anything at the CBI and I am so thankful for the time I had at the CBI because it allowed me to meet all of you, and especially you, Teresa, because you put up with me for all those years and then even decided to put up with me for the rest of our lives."

Patrick leaned over and kissed Teresa, causing Van Pelt and Rigsby to smile to each other.

"I so knew that you two loved each other," Van Pelt gloated.

Teresa and Patrick looked at each other and smiled.

"We're never going to live that down, are we?" Teresa asked.

"Nope." Rigsby and Van Pelt replied in unison.

"Eww!" the kids shrieked, seeing Teresa and Patrick kissing. "Yuck!"

Their reaction caused the four adults to laugh. These were certainly the new good old days that they would remember forever.

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A special shout out goes to Tardisfreak for also suggesting that Van Pelt and Rigsby should make an appearance in TFTFJ :)

Reviews and suggestions are welcome.


	5. Letters to Lisbon

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own The Mentalist or any of its characters.** Nope.

* * *

*****Spoilers for Season 7, Episode 1*****

* * *

**TALES FROM THE FAMILY JANE**

Chapter 5- Letters to Lisbon

Now that the case was over, Teresa Lisbon could turn her attention back to getting her house back in order. Since she wasn't moving to Washington D.C. with Pike, every possession that she had carefully packed and boxed up now needed to be taken out of the boxes and unpacked. It helped that she didn't have to do this all on her. Oh no, Patrick Jane, her new boyfriend, was going to be assisting her, regardless of whether or not he wanted to. There were two reasons behind this: one, he was now her boyfriend and two, he owed her at least that much after waiting until the absolute last minute to admit that he loved her and try to convince her not to leave Texas and, more specifically, him.

It was a comfortably warm and sunny day as Lisbon stepped outside to head toward her garage, the place where she and Jane quickly stored all of her things after Abbott called to inform them about the case. She pulled the elastic hair tie from around her wrist and threw her hair back in a messy bun when she heard a vehicle pulling into her driveway. Lisbon turned around and saw the telltale silver Airstream as it parked, alerting her that Jane had arrived, causing her to smile.

"Good morning, Teresa," Jane greeted cheerily as he emerged from the vehicle.

Jane kissed Lisbon and then handed her a cup of coffee.

"Well, this is a first," Teresa began to say as she linked arms with Jane and the two walked slowly toward the garage together. "In all of the years I've known you, I don't recall ever seeing you in anything other than a suit of some sort."

Jane smiled at the thought. Lisbon had a point. Instead of his usual attire, Jane had donned a light blue shirt and a pair of khaki pants. For him, that was as casual as it got.

"This old thing?" Jane joked. "Well, I figured I'd die from all the heavy lifting in the Texas heat if I wore one of my suits."

"Well, I think it looks very handsome," Lisbon told him.

Jane leaned over and kissed Lisbon's cheek just as they reached the garage. He clapped his hands together.

"Alright, Teresa," Jane began to say. "What do you want to start with? Just point me in the right direction and I will get to work."

"I think we stashed my essentials over here," Lisbon replied. "Why don't we start with those?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Jane said as he grabbed some boxes and turned to bring them into Lisbon's place.

Lisbon picked up some boxes and did the same. They repeated this pattern until Jane got distracted and he wandered out of the house a few minutes later with one of Lisbon's possessions in his hand.

"Jane?" Lisbon questioned, noticing that he had stopped helping. "What are you doing?"

"I found a radio!" Jane told her, holding up the radio for her to see.

"I can see that," Lisbon replied, placing her hands on her hips. "And how is that radio going to help us move these boxes into the house?"

"It's not," Jane said, fiddling with the radio.

He seemed to find a channel that appealed to him and placed it on top of one of the boxes, the sound of smooth jazz instantly filling the garage. Jane smiled at Lisbon as he approached her. He took her hands and spun her around before pulling her toward him to slow dance together.

"You have something against hard work, don't you?" Lisbon joked with Jane as they swayed to the music.

"It's one of my charms," Jane replied, his signature smile on his lips.

The slow song ended and it was replaced with a more upbeat one. Jane let Lisbon go in order to do a little solo dance for her. He loved to make her laugh and looked for any opportunity to do so. As Jane did a spin for Lisbon, he bumped one of the boxes that were stacked up in the corner of the garage. The top box wobbled momentarily before falling to the garage floor. Jane and Lisbon both noticed that the box had fallen and some of its contents spilled out on to the floor.

"Ta da?" Jane said as more of a question rather than a statement.

Lisbon laughed and clapped for Jane and he gave her a dramatic bow in response. The two then went to go clean up the things that had fallen out of the box. It was mostly miscellaneous things, some keepsakes and some toiletries, among other things. The one thing that caught Jane's attention was a little box, the cover of which had popped off slightly, that was filled with pieces of paper.

"No, it couldn't," he began to say, a bright smile forming on his face. "You kept these?"

Lisbon turned her attention to the box that Jane had in his hands. She could feel the warmth in her cheeks, as she blushed from a bit of embarrassment, feeling like a school girl revealing her true feelings to her crush.

"I did," Lisbon replied softly.

Jane smiled at Lisbon as he fingered through the pieces of paper within the box. Each piece of paper was one of the letters that he had written to her while he was hiding out in Mexico after killing Red John. It warmed his heart to know that Lisbon had not only kept these letters, but was planning on taking them with her if she had moved to D.C. with Pike after all.

"This means a lot to me that you kept these," Jane told her sincerely.

"They meant a lot to me when you sent them and they still do," Lisbon told him. "I don't know how many times I read them over when you were gone. They were a nice reassurance to know that you were okay and..."

Lisbon's sentence trailed off. Even though they were now a couple, revealing their true emotions to each other was still a new novelty to them. Jane reached over and put his hand on top of Lisbon's.

"I know," he said.

Lisbon knew that he understood what she wanted to say but wanted him to hear it from her anyway.

"I know you do," she said. "But you deserve to hear it. Those letters meant a lot to me because out of all of the people in the world that you could keep in contact with, you chose me. You risked being discovered in order to send me a short and sweet letter. It really meant so much to me that you sent me these letters. It helped me to think that maybe, just maybe, you did care for me in a more-than-friends kind of way,"

"Of course I did- I do- Teresa," Jane assured her. "I'm just sorry that I nearly had to lose you in order to scare myself enough to admit what I really felt for you."

"Yeah, me too," Lisbon agreed.

"And I'm sorry for ruining the fairytale life you could have had with Pike," Jane added.

Lisbon shrugged.

"It was nice but, honestly, you and all of your craziness and unpredictability is far more fun," she told Jane.

Jane laughed. He wrapped his arm around Lisbon and kissed her yet again.

"And that's why I love you."

* * *

For those who haven't read it, I have a story called Letters to Lisbon, which this idea is based off of :)

As always, reviews and suggestions are welcome.


	6. Fierce Competition

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own The Mentalist or any of its characters. **Insert witty comment here :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! To celebrate, here is some Patrick Jane family goodness for you. Enjoy!

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***Spoilers for the Series Finale***

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**TALES FROM THE FAMILY JANE**

Chapter 6- Fierce Competition

The stakes were high and the competition was fierce. Jane stared down his opponent with an intense gaze, yet with a twinkle in his eye and a small smirk on his lips. Lisbon sat at the head of the table, watching with an amused expression as the Wild West standoff unfolded between the two people on either side of her.

The game between the two combatants lingered on, neither wanting to make a move too soon or too late, which would give their opponent the upper hand. Jane's opponent eyed him back just as intensely and with bright eyes and a confident smile that mirrored his own. Both boys glanced alternatively between the cards in their hands and each other, searching for any sign of a tell or a bluff. Jane finally spoke, breaking the nearly tangible yet silent tension between them.

"I'm going to call your bluff," he said.

Jane took the chips they were using in lieu of actual money and pushed a pile of them forward. "I am all in."

Lisbon glanced over at Jane's opponent, an eyebrow raised in intrigue as to his next move. Jane's opponent looked back and forth between his cards and Lisbon before finally addressing Jane.

"Go fish," four year old Matthew told his father.

Matthew then put his two remaining cards- a matching pair of ten's- on the table in front of him. "I win!" he said cheerily.

"You little punk!" Jane said with a laugh of disbelief.

Lisbon laughed as well as her eldest son clapped in victory. Matthew then reached forward and pulled his winnings- chocolate chips- toward him.

"Here, Mom, have some of my winnings!" he said, handing Lisbon a handful of chips.

"Why thank you, Mr. Jane," Lisbon said as she held her hand out to accept the chips from Matthew.

She then took some of the chocolate chips and popped them in her mouth, as did Matthew. Jane, dumbfounded yet proud at his son's victory, watched as his wife and his son enjoyed their triumph. There was only one thing he could say in a situation like this:

"Rematch?"

* * *

Reviews and prompts are welcome :)


	7. Bittersweet Birthday

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own The Mentalist or any of its characters. **No, but I do own two doggies :)

**A/N: **A special shout out goes to Tardisfreak for this prompt. *virtual hugs*

* * *

***SPOILERS- Series Finale***

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**TALES FROM THE FAMILY JANE**

Chapter 7- Bittersweet Birthday

Teresa rolled over and stretched her arm out across the bed to reach for her husband. She frowned to herself at the feel of the cool, empty sheets beneath her fingers. Teresa opened her eyes and saw that Patrick, in fact, was not next to her. About a year and a half ago, Patrick's disappearance would have frightened her but those fears have long since been quelled. She knew that he was not going anywhere because he was truly happy for the first time in a long time.

Teresa sat up and stretched momentarily before reaching over to her nightstand to turn off the baby monitor only to discover that it had already been turned off. She smiled to herself. Whenever Patrick was missing, Teresa always knew where to find him. Her soon to be one year old son, Matthew, and her husband were practically always together. Patrick simply adored his son and Teresa could tell that Matthew just as equally adored his father. Throwing the covers back, Teresa got out of bed to go in search of her menfolk.

Heading downstairs and turning the corner toward the living room, Teresa spied the telltale blond curls peeking over the top of the couch. She walked over and wrapped her arms around Patrick's neck and kissed his cheek.

"Good morning," Teresa said to her husband.

Her attention then immediately shifted to the sweet little face of her brown haired little boy and she smiled. The toddler looked up at his mother and gave her a gummy smile.

"And good morning to you," Teresa said as she scooped up Matthew and cuddled with the little boy.

Matthew smiled and giggled as Teresa held him to her after taking a seat on the couch next to Patrick. "So, what are you up to?" Teresa asked Patrick.

Patrick turned the laptop that he had been using that rested on the coffee table in front of him so that his wife could see.

"I'm designing invitations for Matthew's birthday," he explained. "Do you think that this is enough?"

Teresa leaned forward and counted the number of invitations that Patrick had been working on.

"Patrick, how many people do you think we're inviting to Matthew's birthday party?" Teresa exclaimed. "He's only going to be turning one!"

"Exactly!" Patrick replied.

He reached over and took Matthew's little hands in his, moving them up in down as he spoke in a high pitched voice, pretending that it was Matthew that was speaking. "But Mommy, I'm going to be one year old! That's a big thing! This is my first birthday! I only get one first birthday!"

Matthew laughed as Patrick moved his arms back and forth, causing Teresa to chuckle.

"I understand that, but you saw what happened with our wedding, Patrick. It started from being just the two of us with the justice of the peace to suddenly exploding to well over fifty people."

"Well, we have a big family," Patrick said with a shrug.

Teresa opened her mouth to reply, but just smiled instead. She let out a breath.

"Okay, but, please, don't overdo it."

"Teresa, when have I been known to overdo things?" Patrick retorted, feigning that he was offended.

Teresa just stared at him.

"Is that a trick question?" she said.

* * *

Teresa returned home from work at the FBI. She dropped her things on the end table in the foyer of their house and then made her way toward the kitchen, where she spied Matthew in his high chair. He was being fed by Patrick, who was making faces at the toddler to get him to open up his mouth, while he was speaking to someone on the phone.

"And what is the price?" Patrick asked the person on the other end of the line.

Teresa kissed her son on the head before walking over to the counter to grab a helping of the pasta that Patrick had prepared for them for supper. She took her bowl, along with a drink that she had poured for herself and sat down at the table to eat as she watched her husband curiously, wondering who he might be speaking to on the phone.

"Well, that sounds perfect," Patrick continued. "Yes, I'd like to book it...perfect, thank you."

Patrick ended his call and placed the phone on the table next to him. He looked over at Teresa and smiled. "Hi, honey," Patrick said, standing up slightly to give Teresa a kiss. "How was work? Save any lives today? Take down any evil masterminds threatening the safety of our fair city?"

"Nothing too exciting. Just following up on some new leads on the Stevens case." Teresa replied. "Who were you talking to?"

"Oh that?" Patrick said, making faces as he continued to feed Matthew. "I was booking some entertainment for the party."

Teresa tilted her head in curiosity.

"What kind of entertainment?"

"Well," Patrick began to say. "I booked a bounce house, a clown, and a pony ride. Oh, and I had the invitations printed and I sent in the design I came up with Matthew's birthday cake into the designers."

Teresa, who had taken a drink of her beverage at this point, nearly spit out her drink.

"Wait, what?" she coughed out.

Patrick began to repeat what he had just told his wife when Teresa waved him off. "Oh, I heard you alright," she said. "But, honey, is all of that really necessary?"

"Of course. It's Matthew's birthday." Patrick said matter-of-factly.

Teresa reached over and put her hand on top of Patrick's.

"Patrick, I know you love our son but is all of that necessary? He's only going to be one year old; how much of this will he be able to do? And more than that, how much of this will he be able to remember?"

Patrick pondered what Teresa had said for a moment.

"I suppose that a bounce house wouldn't be the best thing for a one year old," he admitted. "But I'm sure that Stan's kids will enjoy it,"

"I'm sure they will but, like I said, please don't overdo it."

* * *

It was bath time for Matthew and he was enjoying playing in the soap and bubbles with his various toys while under the watchful eye of Teresa. She put her hands in the soapy water and then messed up Matthew's hair, causing the toddler to giggle. Patrick opened the bathroom door to talk to Teresa, but paused at the sight of his wife and son playing together. There was no sight more beautiful than the simple moments like this. They never ceased to bring a smile to his face, especially when Teresa molded Matthew's hair into a little mohawk.

"Looking good, buddy," Patrick said as he kneeled down next to Teresa in front of the tub. "So, I found a great deal on a face painter and temporary tattoo artist-"

Patrick stopped speaking when he saw the look on Teresa's face.

"What did I say about not overdoing it?"

"That's it, Teresa," Patrick raised his hands in mock surrender. "I'm not looking for anything else because adding anything else to Matthew's party would be overdoing it."

Teresa nodded slowly in confirmation, reminding her husband that he was right on the cusp of taking it a bit too far. Patrick leaned over and kissed Teresa on the cheek.

"Don't worry, honey," he assured her. "This party will not be overly extravagant."

* * *

Teresa stared at Patrick and she was pretty sure that her mouth was nearly down to the floor. In addition to the bounce house, clown, pony rides, face painter and temporary tattoo artist, Patrick had also hired various people to run concession stands, including snow cones, cotton candy, popcorn and French fries. Teresa just stayed quiet, rubbing her temples.

"Patrick," she began to say, trying to keep her voice calm and collected.

"I overdid it, didn't I?" Patrick replied, already knowing what his wife was going to say to him.

"Ya think?"

Teresa stood up from her chair and placed her hands on the kitchen table. "I'm going to go to for a run," she said. "Can we sort this all out when I come home?"

Patrick nodded.

* * *

Upon returning home from her run to clear her head, Teresa went in search of Patrick. She found him upstairs in Matthew's room, watching the toddler as he slept.

"Patrick?" Teresa said to get her husband's attention.

"Hi Teresa," Patrick replied quietly.

He was sitting in the rocking chair that faced their son's crib so he turned his head to look over at Teresa who was standing in the doorway.

"Can we talk?" Teresa asked.

"Yeah, sure," Patrick answered as he stood up from the rocking chair and followed Teresa out of the room.

They went downstairs to the living room so they wouldn't disturb Matthew. After placing the baby monitor on the coffee table in front of the couch, Patrick took a seat next to Teresa and prepared for the inevitable discussion about having overdone it.

"Okay," Teresa began to say. "Would you like to tell me why you've been acting like a bridezilla, except you're organizing your son's first birthday party instead of a wedding?"

Patrick stayed quiet for a moment. He already knew the answer to his wife's question, as he had time to think about his over extravagant party plans.

"Honestly?" Patrick paused.

Even though he had come a long way when it came to revealing his emotions to Teresa, it still wasn't the easiest thing for him to do. "Well, I wanted to give Matthew the best party ever. I wanted to give him everything that any child could ever want because..."

Patrick's sentence trailed off. Teresa placed her hand on top of her husband's.

"I know you love him," she said. "I do too. For a while, I never thought I'd have kids or even get married and yet here I am, and I am so unbelievably happy."

Patrick smiled at Teresa.

"Yeah, me too." he agreed. "I never thought I could be this happy. And that's the thing: I never expected to be this happy ever again. I never expected to find my true love. I never expected that I would get to be a father again. That's why I wanted everything to be perfect for Matthew's birthday; I'm just so happy to have him in my life that I sort of went overboard with the planning. I never thought I'd have the chance to see a child of mine grow up so I wanted to this day to be perfect because the day Matthew was born was such a perfect day to me, and to us. It's bittersweet because I know what I had to lose in order to find my true happiness."

Teresa gave her husband's hand a reassuring squeeze. She really had no words to say to his heartfelt confession because she knew that she would probably begin to cry because the beauty of his words was very powerful and struck a chord within her. Knowing that this was the case, Patrick wrapped his arm around Teresa and she rested her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head.

* * *

Patrick and Teresa came to agreement on some of the party events and entertainment that they would keep for Matthew's birthday party. They sent out invitations to majority of the family, just as Patrick planned, and just about everyone agreed to attend. Before the party was set to start, Patrick and Teresa were decorating the house. Patrick was hanging streamers and a birthday banner while Teresa was filling up some balloons while Matthew played with them.

Teresa took one of the balloons she just finished filling and handed it to Matthew, who smiled at the bright red balloon. As Matthew played with the balloon, the static caused his dark brown locks to stand up which, in turn, made Teresa laugh. She grabbed another balloon and filled it up before giving it to her son, who played with it and made even more of his hair stand up. By this point, Matthew was laughing too, having a great deal of fun playing with the colorful balloons.

Patrick returned from outside, having finished hanging a banner outside in the backyard, where the party would be held. He headed to the living room and smiled when he saw Teresa and Matthew. Patrick went down to the floor and sat down next to his son, grabbing a balloon from the pile. He took the balloon and rubbed it on Matthew's hair, causing it to stand up completely. This made the little boy laugh even louder and his belly laughs never ceased to get his parents laughing as well.

Though he would never admit it, Teresa was right. Matthew didn't need a crazy and huge party, a trait that he certainly got from his mother. Instead, he was just happy to be playing with the balloons in the living room with his parents. And that, Patrick acknowledged, was just a beautiful moment that no big party could ever top.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who has sent in prompts for the story. I am working on them but want to take my time on them so I do them justice :) While I continue to work on them, feel free to send me more prompts. You can leave a review with an idea or send me a PM.

Thanks for reading :)


	8. Reinforcements

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own The Mentalist or any of its characters.** I just own a lot of work and school work that I should be doing instead of typing fanfiction (but that's more fun).

* * *

**A/N:** A special shout out goes out to my guest reviewer, Rdub, for this prompt! *Virtual hugs*

***SPOILERS- SERIES FINALE***

* * *

**TALES FROM THE FAMILY JANE**

Chapter 8- Reinforcements

Teresa closed her eyes and laid her head back against the pillow of the reclining chair that she was currently relaxing in inside of the Airstream. It was an incredibly hot day, even by Texas standards. Teresa escaped the heat by staying inside of the Airstream, a fan fixed on the highest setting in front of her and a cool glass of freshly brewed iced tea in her hand. She was listening to some music through her headphones, which were attached to her MP3 that she held in her other hand. That hand rested on top of her slightly rounded belly.

Teresa was in her second trimester so Patrick was definitely feeling the pressure to get their new house done quickly before the arrival of their son or daughter. What was originally supposed to be a fun project to keep himself busy instead of spending all of his time doing tedious work at the FBI now turned in to a race to finish the remodeling before Baby Jane decided it was time to grace the world with his or her presence. Despite the pressure he now felt to get the house fixed up as soon as possible, Patrick knew that he would not have it any other way. He was getting a second chance at having a family and that was the greatest gift that he could ever be given.

That being said, there was absolutely no way that he was going to bring his son or daughter home from the hospital to a decrepit shack by a pond. No. Patrick had solemnly sworn to give his wife and child the best of everything and anything. The house would be no exception. And, as much as he hated to admit it, Patrick knew that he needed help in order to finish the house on time. He needed to call in some reinforcements and he knew just the people for the job.

Patrick grabbed a towel from his work station inside of the house, which resembled more of a bombed out war zone than a residence, and wiped his hands before pulling out his cell phone to check the time. It was just a little before noon, so it was just about time to go and bring in his reinforcements. Teresa was unaware of this, however, and Patrick wanted to keep it as a surprise.

"Knock, knock," Patrick said as he entered the Airstream where his wife was currently relaxing.

Teresa raised her head from the pillow and smiled at Patrick.

"Hey," she replied.

"You're supposed to say, 'who's there?'" Patrick corrected.

Teresa rolled her eyes at her husband's childishness.

"I didn't realize that I was going to be raising _two_ children," she jested.

Patrick grinned at her.

"But I thought that's one of the many reasons that you love me," he said.

"Keep dreaming," Teresa retorted, a slight smile on her face.

Teresa began to attempt to sit up from her reclined position but had a little difficulty of doing so until Patrick rushed over to her and helped her up. "So," Teresa continued as Patrick sat down on the bed across from her. "How's the house coming along?"

"Not too shabby, if I do say so myself," Patrick said. "But, I figured I should call in some reinforcements to help me get the place fixed up a little faster."

"Reinforcements?" Teresa repeated, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. "You?"

"Yes, me," Patrick said with a smirk of his own. "And speaking of the reinforcements, I need to go and get them."

Patrick stood up and kissed Teresa on the head. "Want me to pick you up anything?"

Teresa thought for a moment.

"I could go for a large vanilla milkshake," she said.

"Your wish is my command," Patrick replied with a dramatic bow before turning and then heading out of the Airstream.

* * *

A short time later, Teresa heard the sound of her car coming up the driveway, letting her know that Patrick had returned with his "reinforcements." She managed to get up and head to the door of the Airstream, taking a breath to prepare herself before stepping outside in the blistering heat. Teresa felt as if she practically stepped into an oven as she headed out of the Airstream. She watched as the car approached and then came to a complete stop as Patrick parked in their driveway. Taking a couple steps forward, Teresa saw exactly who Patrick's "reinforcements" were.

"Hey, T!" she heard a voice call.

Before she even saw them emerge from the vehicle, Teresa could already tell that it was her brother, Stanley's, voice.

"Say hi to Aunty Resa!" Jimmy, Teresa's other brother, called.

Teresa's niece and nephews burst from the car and ran toward her. However, her sister-in-law, Karen, caught up to the kids and caught them before they could knock Teresa over. Instead, they clung on to Teresa's legs while Stan, Jimmy and Karen embraced her.

"Patrick said that he could use some help getting the house finished before my niece or nephew arrives, which I am super excited about," Stan told his sister.

"You look beautiful, Teresa," Karen said. "How've you been feeling?"

"I've been great," Teresa said truthfully. "I could do with a little less of a heat wave, though."

"Well, I know the kids have been looking forward to going swimming since it is not pretty back in Chicago," Jimmy said. "You know, it's a typical northeastern spring,"

Teresa laughed.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised." she said.

Patrick then joined the family members, handing Teresa her milkshake.

"Uncle Patrick got us milkshakes too!" little Annie Lisbon announced, tugging on Teresa's hand.

"Did you enjoy your milkshake?" Teresa asked in response, smiling.

"Yep!" Annie replied.

"But now we're all full of sugar and need to burn it off by swimming!" Stan said, pretending to speak for his kids.

The kids bounced up and down, excited to go swimming when they would otherwise not be able to back home due to the weather. Teresa took her niece and nephews by the hands and guided them to the Airstream.

"Well, let's go get changed and go swimming," she said.

Karen joined Teresa in the Airstream to give the kids a hand in getting changed into their bathing suits while Patrick, Stan and Jimmy began to work on the house.

Jimmy, Stan, Karen and the kids ended up staying at a nearby hotel for about a week to assist Patrick in putting the house together. By the end of the week, things were really starting to come together. If Jimmy and Stan could remodel their childhood home back in Chicago, they would have no problem in helping Patrick remodel the house in Texas.

"Well," Patrick began to say, taking a step back to see how the house was coming together. "It's starting to look nice,"

Teresa, who had been lounging by the pond as she kept an eye on the kids as they swam in the water, headed over to Patrick. She wrapped her arms around him. Patrick turned around and smiled at her.

"I think that it's perfect," Teresa told him.

Patrick leaned down and kissed his wife.

"You're right. It is perfect," he agreed. "This is perfect."

Teresa nodded in agreement.

"This is perfect," she repeated. "Having our family help build our dream home to bring our baby home to is better than anything I could have ever hoped for."

Patrick placed his hand on Teresa's belly.

"No argument there,"

Teresa smiled up at Patrick.

"Good. You're finally learning," she said with a laugh.

From inside the house, Patrick and Teresa heard a commotion, followed by Stan swearing and Jimmy cackling. Patrick and Teresa just looked at each other before erupting in laughter. Sure, they could have hired professionals to help whip the house in the shape before their baby was born but these reinforcements were far more fun.


End file.
